Every parliamentary written question tabled by Luke Charters this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 101–120 of 136 · this parliament
What steps his Department is taking to support small businesses in York Outer constituency.
The Government is investing £540 million over 30 years in the York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s local economic priorities, including business support. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is also providing support to York businesses.For small...
How many unfunded policies announced by the previous government her Department identified as part of its recent audit of public spending.
On 29th July, the Chancellor set out the £21.9bn pressure on departmental budgets in the 2024-25 financial year. This announcement was accompanied by the document ‘Fixing the Foundations’, which set out the detail underpinning this number.
What her planned timetable is for establishing the Office of Value for Money.
The Office for Value for Money was established as part of the Chancellor’s speech on the 29th July 2024 setting out our actions to tackle waste and inefficiency from our spending inheritance. As a new venture, the Office is still in the process of finalis...
Whether she has a planned timetable for the establishment of Skills England.
My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced the establishment of Skills England on 22 July 2024, launching it in shadow form with immediate effect. Since then, it has made important pro...
Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that planning authorities determine applications on time.
In our consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, which began on Tuesday 30 July and closes on Tuesday 24 September, we are seeking views on changes to planning application fees wit...
What plans her Department has for tackling violence against women and girls in York Outer constituency.
This Government will treat tackling violence against women and girls as a national emergency and will use every tool to target perpetrators and address the root causes of violence.We will dramatically improve the police and wider criminal justice response...
What steps his Department is taking to support rural GP practices.
We recognise that patients are struggling to access general practice (GP), and more must be done to improve the sustainability of the National Health Service both nationally and in rural areas. The Government is committed to fixing the front door to the N...
Communities and Local Government, if she will visit proposed housing developments in York Outer constituency to discuss affordable housing.
I will happily consider whether a future visit to a housing development in York Outer constituency to discuss affordable housing will be possible.
What steps her Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to help tackle anti-social behaviour in York Outer constituency.
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities, and provide residents with a named ...
Whether she plans to take steps to increase the provision of bus services in rural areas with low connectivity in York Outer constituency.
Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities, Since the de-regulation of buses in England, passenger numbers have declined, and the government is committed to delivering better bus services and growing passenger numbers. As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will introduce the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them and encourage passengers back onto buses right across England. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on these ambitions.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of community police officers in York Outer constituency since 2010 on levels of crime.
The latest statistics on police workforce and crime, covering the period to 31 March 2024, were published on 24 July 2024. These statistics can be accessed at the following links:Police workforce statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/polic...
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of per-pupil funding in York Outer constituency since 2010 on educational attainment.
The department uses the schools national funding formula (NFF) to distribute core funding for 5 to 16 year old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. The NFF distributes funding based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. The department cannot provide comparable funding for the York Outer constituency back to 2010, due to the changes in the funding system since that time. The earliest we can provide data from is the 2020/21 financial year. This data is provided in the table below. The scope of the per-pupil funding before this is not directly comparable. In particular, funding for the central services provided by local authorities was split out from the schools block funding in 2018/19, and instead funded separately through the central school services block from that year onwards. NFF Schools Block per-pupil fundingYear (financial year)York Outer constituency2020/21£4,6322021/22£4,8272022/23£4,9512023/24£5,1752024/25£5,456 Constituency per-pupil funding is calculated based on the notional schools NFF allocations for all mainstream schools in the constituency. The allocations that schools within a constituency actually receive are determined by the local funding formula in their area. All of the figures provided include premises funding but exclude growth funding. The figures do not include the additional grant funding that schools in the York Outer constituency have received to support pay and pensions increases in 2024/25, or the recently announced Core Schools Budget Grant funding. The figure for 2024/25 is based on the new constituency boundaries as of July 2024.
Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to (a) prepare for and (b) mitigate future global IT outages.
As we live in a world that is dependent on interconnected systems, it is essential to be prepared for global IT outages. The Government will work with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to review the lessons learned from the recent outage. The Central Digital and Data Office will work to implement any improvements to the existing response plans to cover technical and cyber resilience failures. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, announced in the King's Speech, will also strengthen our defences and ensure that more digital services than ever before are protected.
If he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of artificial intelligence for reducing emissions.
The Department is funding the “Artificial Intelligence for Decarbonisation's Virtual Centre of Excellence” (ADViCE), run by consortium composed of the Alan Turing Centre, the Energy Catapult and the Digital Catapult, to make an assessment into how AI can be used to achieve our net zero goals. They have produced two reports which can be downloaded here: https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/advice.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of artificial intelligence on access to primary care.
The Government will make better use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies, in order to bring the National Health Service into the digital age. The NHS AI Lab has allocated £113 million to support the development and evaluation of 86 AI technologies, which are now live in hundreds of Primary Care Networks across the United Kingdom.We will rebuild an NHS that is fit for the future, and innovation in general practice is key to this. That is why the Government will develop an NHS innovation and adoption strategy in England, which will drive innovation and faster regulatory approval for new technologies and medicines.
What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the transition to clean energy on (a) businesses and (b) consumer energy bills.
The Government believes that the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and take back control of our energy security. A renewables-led system is the cheapest foundation for a decarbonised grid, and scaling up home-grown renewables reduces the UK’s exposure to volatile global fossil fuel prices, which protects consumer energy bills against future price shocks of the kind which helped drive increases in the electricity price cap of over £1,300 for a typical household during Winter 2022/23.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that environmental land management schemes support (a) farmers and (b) the rural economy in York Outer constituency.
The new Government are fully committed to the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. Government will restore stability and confidence amongst farmers and will optimise schemes and grants in an orderly way, ensuring they produce the right outcomes for all farmers, food security and nature’s recovery in a just and equitable way. The best way to do this effectively is to listen to farmers and others with a stake in our food system, countryside and nature. The Government is doing this as well as assessing data and information about what’s working and what isn’t before setting out detailed plans. Government will also go further by introducing a new deal for farmers to boost Britian’s food security, restore nature and support rural economic growth. We will protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals, make the supply chain work more fairly, protect farmers from shock rises in bills by switching on GB Energy and use the Government’s purchasing power to back British produce.
What steps her Department is taking to co-ordinate with other Departments on tackling fraud through the Serious Fraud Office.
I work closely with other government departments, including the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, to support the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) mission to tackle fraud. My department will continue to support this mission through our superintendence of the SFO. I visited the SFO earlier this month to learn about their important work to deliver justice for victims of economic crime and protect the UK’s reputation as a safe place to do business.The SFO works effectively with other law enforcement agencies through the National Economic Crime Centre to collectively co-ordinate the UK’s response to fraud. Earlier this year this co-ordination led to the National Crime Agency arresting four individuals following an SFO search of three sites in relation to an investigation into an alleged £140m investment fraud.
What recent estimate his Department has made of the level of credit losses arising from fraudulent loans provided through the (a) Bounce Back Loans Scheme and (b) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
As at March 2024, £1.51 billion has been paid out on the government guarantee on BBLS loans where there was lender reported suspected fraud, and £19.8 million has been paid out on the government guarantee on CBILS loans where there was lender reported suspected fraud.We are committed to reducing loss to the taxpayer and continue to work across Government, law enforcement and commercial lenders to address fraud in relation to the Covid debt schemes.Lender recovery activity is monitored via the British Business Bank (BBB) which includes data analytics, review of facilities under the Guarantee Agreement, and an ongoing assurance programme. If lenders have not fulfilled their obligations under the scheme guarantee, they would be unable to claim under the guarantee and any loss would therefore sit with the lender. The National Investigation Service (NATIS) is a secondary line of defence in recovering taxpayers’ money and investigates the most egregious reports of fraudulent abuse within the BBLS. Other recovery efforts include the work of the Insolvency Service and work with lenders to pilot greater use of third-party debt collection specialists, compulsory liquidation for recovery and enforcement in fraud cases.
Innovation and Technology, what plans he has for the National AI Strategy; and whether he plans to update the strategy.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. Over the next few months, we will be ensuring that AI is used to drive the government’s missions and priorities, including the Industrial Strategy, the AI Opportunities Action Plan, and wider commitments.